Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Orange (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Orange. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Orange is located in Clark County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clark County: Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar, Jasper, Sullivan (IN) & Vigo (IN).
Below are the counties that are near Orange. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orange:
- Clark County (The home county of Orange)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Melrose
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Hogue Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hogue Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogue Town
- West Union
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Union is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Oak Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Martinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Snyder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- York
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Clark Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Casey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Marshall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cleone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cleone is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleone
- Oilfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oilfield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oilfield
- Coles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Hutton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hutton is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Ashmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Omer ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Omer is located in Coles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer
- Lerna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Trilla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Annapolis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bellair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- West York
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dogwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dogwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Hutsonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kibbie ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kibbie is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibbie
- Trimble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Trimble is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Oblong
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Robinson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Stoy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gordon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gordon is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Oil Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oil Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Palestine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Hazel Dell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Hazel Dell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Dell
- Union Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Union Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Timothy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Timothy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timothy
- Greenup
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Diona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Diona is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diona
- Walla Walla
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Walla Walla is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walla Walla
- Jewett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Toledo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bradbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bradbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradbury
- Janesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Johnstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Edgar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Oliver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Oliver is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
- Bell Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bell Ridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Ridge
- Grandview
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grandview is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Kansas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Elbridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elbridge is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
- Nevins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nevins is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevins
- Conlogue
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Conlogue is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conlogue
- Kentucky
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kentucky is located in Edgar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky
- Paris
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Vermilion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Redmon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Effingham County
- Montrose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Montrose is located in Effingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Yale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Hidalgo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Rose Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Willow Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Sainte Marie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Newton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lis is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lis
- West Liberty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Liberty is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Liberty
- Wheeler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bogota
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bogota is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogota
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Birds
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Russellville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Dundas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amity
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Amity is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
- Knox County (IN)
- Oaktown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sullivan County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Graysville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Graysville is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Fairbanks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fairbanks is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Merom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scott City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Scott City is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- New Lebanon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shelburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Farmersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sullivan
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Paxton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Paxton is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Hymera
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hymera is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hymera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Carlisle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jericho
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jericho is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Scotchtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Scotchtown is located in Sullivan County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown
- Vigo County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Vigo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Vigo is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vigo
- Prairie Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Prairie Creek is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
- Prairieton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Prairieton is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieton
- Pimento
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pimento is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pimento
- Toad Hop
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Toad Hop is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toad Hop
- Youngstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Youngstown is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
- Liggett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Liggett is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liggett
- West Terre Haute
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorville is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorville
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Terre Haute
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Barnhart Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Barnhart Town is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart Town
- Harrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison is located in Vigo County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orange, see our County-by-County Page for Orange.
Cemeteries Near Orange ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orange.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Orange - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orange covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Medsker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dix Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cox Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stanfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bennett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Butternut Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Island Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Duggan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (471 more) ...
- Plymouth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Orange had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
- Melrose
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Moonshine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Moonshine is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonshine
- Annapolis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bellair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bellair is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellair
- West York
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Union
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Union is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Walnut Prairie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Walnut Prairie is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Prairie
- Oak Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Oak Point is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Martinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Snyder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Snyder is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- York
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- York is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Ernst
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ernst is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernst
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Clark Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clark Center is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Center
- Casey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Advance
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Advance is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orange. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orange.
Newspapers Published in Orange ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orange.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orange, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orange.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Orange:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Clark County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coles County
- Crawford County
- Cumberland County
- Edgar County
- Effingham County
- Jasper County
- Lawrence County
- Richland County
- Knox County
- Sullivan County
- Vigo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orange) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <4> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Orange, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |